Guidance regarding behavior must be backed up by hard data. Otherwise, your actions may be a waste of time or actively damaging. My previous blog post offered hard data sources for COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) cases worldwide (COVID-19). This blog post offers some additional guidance based on data compiled by sources I recommend as the most reliable we have.
For those folks struggling with where to find reliable data, and the interpretation of data that provides us guidelines, I recommend the following:
https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/q-a-coronaviruses – The World Health Organization (WHO) is the international gold standard for health related information.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html – The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) offers American focused guidance. This page offers an FAQ.
https://www.fema.gov/coronavirus-rumor-control – FEMA now has a rumor control FAQ.
One aspect of this crisis I have yet to find reliable data on is regarding how much one needs to clean the groceries when bringing them into the house. This is unclear because we have little data regarding how long this coronavirus survives on surfaces.
Remember, this is “Novel Coronavirus” which is a new thing never seen before. Data on other coronaviruses shows that they can live on surfaces for as long as a few days. This is what the WHO has to say about the topic:
“It is not certain how long the virus that causes COVID-19 survives on surfaces, but it seems to behave like other coronaviruses. Studies suggest that coronaviruses (including preliminary information on the COVID-19 virus) may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days. This may vary under different conditions (e.g. type of surface, temperature or humidity of the environment).
If you think a surface may be infected, clean it with simple disinfectant to kill the virus and protect yourself and others. Clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Avoid touching your eyes, mouth, or nose.”
My credentials: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laraccoutinho/